Membrane electrode assembly catalyst material

ABSTRACT

A catalyst for a membrane electron assembly (MEA) comprising: a ternary oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): IrxM1-xO2 (I), where x is any number between about 0.25 and 0.75, and M is Ag, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Nd, Os, Pd, Pr, Re, Rh, Se, Sm, Tl, or W, the material being configured to catalyze oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and increase stability, activity, or both of the catalyst.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to ternary and quaternary iridium oxide catalyst materials for membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) for hydrogen-generating devices, a method of identifying the same, and a method of producing the same.

BACKGROUND

Hydrogen-producing devices such as fuel cells and electrolyzers are becoming increasingly popular due to their ability to produce clean energy. But cost of their individual components has remained to be a hurdle to large scale production. Due to the harsh environment of the fuel cells and electrolyzers, only a limited number of materials has been identified as suitable for production of their components such as electrodes and reaction catalysts. Most of the traditional materials include rare elements which are cost prohibitive.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a catalyst for a membrane electron assembly (MEA) is disclosed. The catalyst includes a ternary oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I):

Ir_(x)M_(1-x)O₂  (I),

where x is any number between about 0.25 and 0.75, and

M is Ag, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Nd, Os, Pd, Pr, Re, Rh, Se, Sm, Tl, or W,

the material being configured to catalyze an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and to increase stability, activity, or both of the catalyst. The MEA may be a polymer-electron membrane (PEM) MEA. The MEA may be a fuel cell MEA. The catalyst may include a first composition and a second composition of the formula (I), the first and second compositions having different M, x values, or both. M may be Bi. x may be about 0.25 to 0.5. The catalyst may further include at most about 50 wt. % of Ir, Ru, IrO₂, RuO₂, or a combination thereof, based on the total weight of the catalyst. The ternary oxide material may form a nanoparticle layer on an anode of the MEA.

In another embodiment, a catalyst of a membrane electron assembly (MEA) is disclosed. The catalyst may include a quaternary oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II):

Ir_(x)Bi_(y)M_(z)O₂  (II),

where x, y, z is each individually and independently any number between about 0.25 and 0.75, x+y+z=1, and

M is Ag, Au, Ba, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Mo, Nb, Nd, Os, Pd, Pt, Pr, Re, Rh, Ru, Sb, Se, Sm, Sn, Ta, Tl, Ti, W, Y, or Zr,

the material being configured to catalyze an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and increase stability, activity, or both of the catalyst. The MEA may be a polymer-electron membrane (PEM) MEA. The MEA may be a MEA in a fuel cell stack. M may be Ce, Sb, Se, or Sn. The quaternary oxide material may include at least two different compositions of the formula (II). Each of the at least two compositions may have different constituents, but the same values of numeric subscripts. The catalyst may further include Ir, Ru, IrO₂, RuO₂, or a combination thereof.

In a yet another embodiment, a membrane electron assembly (MEA) is disclosed. The MEA may include an OER catalyst material having a first material including

(a) a ternary oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I):

Ir_(x)M_(1-x)O₂  (I),

where x is any number between about 0.25 and 0.75; and

M is Ag, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Nd, Os, Pd, Pr, Re, Rh, Se, Sm, Tl, or W, and

(b) a quaternary oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II):

Ir_(x)Bi_(y)M_(z)O₂  (II)

where x, y, z is each individually and independently any number between about 0.25 and 0.75, x+y+z=1, and

M is Ag, Au, Ba, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Mo, Nb, Nd, Os, Pd, Pt, Pr, Re, Rh, Ru, Sb, Se, Sm, Sn, Ta, Tl, Ti, W, Y, or Zr,

the material of the formulas (I) and (II) being configured to catalyze oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and increase stability, activity, or both of the catalyst. The MEA may be a polymer-electron membrane (PEM) MEA. The MEA may be a fuel cell MEA. M in the formula (II) may be Se, Sn, Sb, or Ce. M in the formula (I) may be Bi.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a non-limiting example of proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) including a MEA;

FIG. 2 shows schematically principles of electrolysis in a MEA;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic of a MEA stack having individual cells tailored with the herein-disclosed material to achieve higher activity, stability, or both;

FIG. 4 shows a phase diagram between H₃O and IrO₂;

FIG. 5 shows a plot categorizing each studied Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ species (vs. pure IrO₂) based on chemical reactions against H, H₃O, OH, OOH, O, and CO and thermodynamic decomposition;

FIG. 6 shows a plot categorizing each studied Ir_(0.5)M_(0.5)O₂ species (vs. pure IrO₂) based on chemical reactions against H, H₃O, OH, OOH, O, and CO and thermodynamic decomposition; and

FIG. 7 shows a plot categorizing each studied Ir_(0.25)M_(0.75)O₂ species (vs. pure IrO₂) based on chemical reactions against H, H₃O, OH, OOH, O, and CO and thermodynamic decomposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and other embodiments may take various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features could be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present embodiments. As those of ordinary skill in the art will understand, various features illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures may be combined with features illustrated in one or more other figures to produce embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated or described. The combinations of features illustrated provide representative embodiments for typical applications. Various combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the teachings of this disclosure, however, could be desired for particular applications or implementations.

Except in the examples, or where otherwise expressly indicated, all numerical quantities in this description indicating amounts of material or conditions of reaction and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word “about” in describing the broadest scope of the invention. Practice within the numerical limits stated is generally preferred. Also, unless expressly stated to the contrary: percent, “parts of,” and ratio values are by weight; the description of a group or class of materials as suitable or preferred for a given purpose in connection with the invention implies that mixtures of any two or more of the members of the group or class are equally suitable or preferred; description of constituents in chemical terms refers to the constituents at the time of addition to any combination specified in the description, and does not necessarily preclude chemical interactions among the constituents of a mixture once mixed.

The first definition of an acronym or other abbreviation applies to all subsequent uses herein of the same abbreviation and applies mutatis mutandis to normal grammatical variations of the initially defined abbreviation. Unless expressly stated to the contrary, measurement of a property is determined by the same technique as previously or later referenced for the same property.

It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular form “a,” “an,” and “the” comprise plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, reference to a component in the singular is intended to comprise a plurality of components.

As used herein, the term “substantially,” “generally,” or “about” means that the amount or value in question may be the specific value designated or some other value in its neighborhood. Generally, the term “about” denoting a certain value is intended to denote a range within +/−5% of the value. As one example, the phrase “about 100” denotes a range of 100+/−5, i.e. the range from 95 to 105. Generally, when the term “about” is used, it can be expected that similar results or effects according to the invention can be obtained within a range of +/−5% of the indicated value. The term “substantially” may modify a value or relative characteristic disclosed or claimed in the present disclosure. In such instances, “substantially” may signify that the value or relative characteristic it modifies is within ±0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% or 10% of the value or relative characteristic.

It should also be appreciated that integer ranges explicitly include all intervening integers. For example, the integer range 1-10 explicitly includes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Similarly, the range 1 to 100 includes 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . 97, 98, 99, 100. Similarly, when any range is called for, intervening numbers that are increments of the difference between the upper limit and the lower limit divided by 10 can be taken as alternative upper or lower limits. For example, if the range is 1.1. to 2.1 the following numbers 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, and 2.0 can be selected as lower or upper limits.

In the examples set forth herein, concentrations, temperature, and reaction conditions (e.g., pressure, pH, flow rates, etc.) can be practiced with plus or minus 50 percent of the values indicated rounded to or truncated to two significant figures of the value provided in the examples. In a refinement, concentrations, temperature, and reaction conditions (e.g., pressure, pH, flow rates, etc.) can be practiced with plus or minus 30 percent of the values indicated rounded to or truncated to two significant figures of the value provided in the examples. In another refinement, concentrations, temperature, and reaction conditions (e.g., pressure, pH, flow rates, etc.) can be practiced with plus or minus 10 percent of the values indicated rounded to or truncated to two significant figures of the value provided in the examples.

For all compounds expressed as an empirical chemical formula with a plurality of letters and numeric subscripts (e.g., CH₂O), values of the subscripts can be plus or minus 50 percent of the values indicated rounded to or truncated to two significant figures. For example, if CH₂O is indicated, a compound of formula C_((0.8-1.2))H_((1.6-2.4))O_((0.8-1.2)). In a refinement, values of the subscripts can be plus or minus 30 percent of the values indicated rounded to or truncated to two significant figures. In still another refinement, values of the subscripts can be plus or minus 20 percent of the values indicated rounded to or truncated to two significant figures.

As used herein, the term “and/or” means that either all or only one of the elements of said group may be present. For example, “A and/or B” means “only A, or only B, or both A and B”. In the case of “only A”, the term also covers the possibility that B is absent, i.e. “only A, but not B”.

It is also to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific embodiments and methods described below, as specific components and/or conditions may, of course, vary. Furthermore, the terminology used herein is used only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to be limiting in any way.

The term “comprising” is synonymous with “including,” “having,” “containing,” or “characterized by.” These terms are inclusive and open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

The phrase “consisting of” excludes any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the claim. When this phrase appears in a clause of the body of a claim, rather than immediately following the preamble, it limits only the element set forth in that clause; other elements are not excluded from the claim as a whole.

The phrase “consisting essentially of” limits the scope of a claim to the specified materials or steps, plus those that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic(s) of the claimed subject matter.

With respect to the terms “comprising,” “consisting of,” and “consisting essentially of,” where one of these three terms is used herein, the presently disclosed and claimed subject matter can include the use of either of the other two terms.

The term “one or more” means “at least one” and the term “at least one” means “one or more.” The terms “one or more” and “at least one” include “plurality” as a subset.

The description of a group or class of materials as suitable for a given purpose in connection with one or more embodiments implies that mixtures of any two or more of the members of the group or class are suitable. Description of constituents in chemical terms refers to the constituents at the time of addition to any combination specified in the description, and does not necessarily preclude chemical interactions among constituents of the mixture once mixed. First definition of an acronym or other abbreviation applies to all subsequent uses herein of the same abbreviation and applies mutatis mutandis to normal grammatical variations of the initially defined abbreviation. Unless expressly stated to the contrary, measurement of a property is determined by the same technique as previously or later referenced for the same property.

Fuel cells, or electrochemical cells, that convert chemical energy of a fuel (e.g. H₂) and an oxidizing agent into electricity through a pair of electrochemical half (redox) reactions, have become an increasingly popular hydrogen-fuel-generating technology. Fuel cells are now a promising alternative transportation technology capable of operating without emissions of either toxins or green-house gases. One of the current limitations of wide-spread adoption of this clean and sustainable technology is related to clean production of H₂ fuel.

A proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) represents an environment friendly alternative to internal combustion engines for a variety of vehicles such as cars and buses. A PEMFC typically features a relatively high efficiency and power density. A very attractive feature of the PEMFC engine are no carbon emissions, provided that the hydrogen fuel has been gained in an environmentally friendly manner. Besides being a green engine, the PEMFC may be used in other applications such as stationary and portable power sources.

The PEMFC technology; however, presents a number of challenges connected to its maintenance, sustainable performance over time, longevity, and production cost. For example, the PEMFC has a highly corrosive environment requiring materials capable of withstanding the challenging conditions. While focus is on the overall performance of the fuel cells, incremental improvements of individual components of the PEMFC are needed.

A non-limiting example of a PEMFC is depicted in FIG. 1 . A core component of the PEMFC 10 that helps produce the electrochemical reaction needed to separate electrons is the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) 12. The MEA 12 includes subcomponents such as electrodes (cathode, anode), catalysts, and polymer electrolyte membranes. Besides MEA 12, the PEMFC 10 typically includes other components such as current collectors 14, gas diffusion layer(s) 16, gaskets 18, and bipolar plate(s) 20.

Different types of MEA may be incorporated, for example a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer stack. A PEM electrolyzer is an electrochemical device designed to convert electricity and water into hydrogen and oxygen, which may be in turn used to store energy. The PEM electrolyzer utilizes electrolysis for hydrogen production. Besides fuel cells, the PEM electrolyzer may be utilized in other applications including industrial, residential, and military applications and technologies focused on energy storage such as electrical grid stabilization from dynamic electrical sources including wind turbines, solar cells, or localized hydrogen production.

A depiction of the electrolysis principal, utilized by a PEM electrolyzer, with relevant reactions is depicted in FIG. 2 . The electrolyzer 30 includes the PEM 32, anode 34, and cathode 36. During electrolysis, water is broken down into oxygen and hydrogen in anodic and cathodic electrically driven evolution reactions. The reactant liquid water (H₂O) permeates through the anode 34 porous transportation layer (PTL) to the anode catalyst layer, where the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) occurs. The protons (H⁺) travel via the PEM 32, and electrons (e−) conduct through an external circuit during the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the cathode 36 catalyst layer. The anodic OER requires a much higher overpotential than the cathodic HER. It is the anodic OER which determines efficiency of the water splitting due to the sluggish nature of its four-electron transfer.

Different materials are used to produce the PEM electrolyzer 30. An example of the anode PTL layer material may be titanium (Ti) and the cathode PTL layer may be carbon-based materials such as carbon paper, carbon fleece, etc. The PEM 32, anode 34, and cathode 36 may be surrounded by bipolar or separator plates which may be made, for example, from Ti, or gold- or platinum-coated Ti metals.

Catalysts are typically used on the anode 34 and the cathode 36 to assist with the half-reaction processes. The typical catalyst material on the cathode 36 is platinum (Pt) while the typical catalyst used on the anode 34 is ruthenium (Ru), iridium (Ir), Ir—Ru, ruthenium oxide (RuO₂), iridium oxide (IrO₂), or iridium-ruthenium oxide (Ir—Ru—O) due to a combination of a relatively high activity and durability. But large-scale use and production of PEM electrolyzes, and fuel cells utilizing PEM electrolyzes, requires substantial amount of the catalyst materials, which poses a problem for the industry. Out of all PEM electrolyzer components, the anode catalyst is the most expensive constituent due to use of the rare metals Ir and/or Ru, and lack of opportunity to reduce its cost through economies-of-scale effects.

At the anode 34, Ir typically catalyzes the EOR (H₂O→2H⁺+½O2+2e⁻); and, at the cathode 36, Pt typically catalyzes the HER (2H⁺+2e⁻→H₂). The cell temperature typically ranges from 50 to 80° C. The cell voltage in the electrolyzer 30 is rather high compared to a fuel cell (greater than 1.23 V), typically ranging from 1.8 to 2.2 V vs. SHE at full load. Due to high operating voltage, the electrolyzer 30 materials may undergo further catalyst degradation (e.g., metal dissolution that can lead to the loss in electrochemically active surface area), which may affect the entire electrolyzer 30 stack system throughout its lifetime.

There are typically two important design factors for selecting the PEM electrolyzer anode 34 catalyst: 1) catalytic activity and 2) catalyst stability or durability during high voltage operation. While noble metals such as Ir, Ru, or Pt are known to be “immune” against corrosion, high voltage operation that oxidizes the surface of the metal may still trigger dissolution. For example, IrO₂ is actively used for PEM electrolyzer applications which can add value in terms of catalyst stability. Adding Ru (or another transition metal like Nb) to IrO₂ may increase the catalytic activity for the OER, when compared to pure IrO₂ catalyst. But Ru and the transition metal may leach out in the acidic environment with elevated voltage operation. This may lead to reduced electrochemical surface area (ECSA) loss and PEM electrolyzer degradation. Due to the dissolution of these expensive catalyst materials and high cost associated with their acquirement, a large-scale production is unsustainable, costly, and impracticable.

Additionally, the same electrolysis principles described above with respect to the PME electrolyzer 30 apply to the PEMFC anode. When the fuel cell is operated under harsh operating conditions such as rapid load change or subzero start-up, fuel starvation may occur. Upon the fuel starvation at the anode, hydrogen is no longer sufficient to provide the needed protons and electrons so water electrolysis reaction and carbon corrosion may occur. The corrosion may deteriorate and compromise the anode materials. To prevent the degradation, an OER catalyst may be added to the anode to promote water electrolysis reaction over carbon corrosion.

Thus, there is a need to identify alternative materials with high activity, good stability, and strong acid tolerance at high oxidation potentials which may fully or at least partially replace Ir and Ru as catalysts at the electrolyzer anode 34 and/or at the PEMFC anode.

In one or more embodiments, a material is disclosed. The material may be a binary oxide. The material may be an OER catalyst material. The material may be a first, second, and/or third material. The material may include, comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of one or more compositions of formula (I):

Ir_(x)M_(1-x)O₂  (I),

where x is any number between about 0.1 and 0.99, and M is an element from the Period 4, 5, or 6 of the Periodic Table of Elements.

In formula (I), x may be any number between about 0.1 and 0.99. x may be about 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 0.10, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, 0.14, 0.15, 0.16, 0.17, 0.18, 0.19, 0.20, 0.21, 0.22, 0.23, 0.24, 0.25, 0.26, 0.27, 0.28, 0.29, 0.30, 0.31, 0.32, 0.33, 0.34, 0.35, 0.36, 0.37, 0.38, 0.39, 0.40, 0.41, 0.42, 0.43, 0.44, 0.45, 0.46, 0.47, 0.48, 0.49, 0.50, 0.51, 0.52, 0.53, 0.54, 0.55, 0.56, 0.57, 0.58, 0.59, 0.60, 0.61, 0.62, 0.63, 0.64, 0.65, 0.66, 0.67, 0.68, 0.69, 0.70, 0.71, 0.72, 0.73, 0.74, 0.75, 0.76, 0.77, 0.78, 0.79, 0.80, 0.81, 0.82, 0.83, 0.84, 0.85, 0.86, 0.87, 0.88, 0.89, 0.90, 0.91, 0.92, 0.93, 0.94, 0.95, 0.96, 0.97, 0.98, 0.99, or a range including any two of the disclosed numerals. A non-limiting example of the range may be about 0.25-0.50, 0.50-0.75, or 0.25-0.75. Another non-limiting example of the range may be about 0.10-0.90, 0.20-0.80, or 0.30-0.70.

In formula (I), at least the following condition may apply: x+(1−x)=1.

In formula (I), M may be an element from Period 4 of the Periodic Table of Elements and may include Ca, Ti, Ge; Period 5 of the Periodic Table of Elements and may include Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Sn, Sb; or Period 6 of the Periodic Table of Elements and may include Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Pt, Au, Tl, or Bi. In formula (I), M may be from Group IIA, IIIA, IVA, VA, VIA, IB, IIB, IIIB, IVB, VB, VIB, VIIB, or VIIIB. In formula (I), M may be an alkaline earth metal, coinage metal, volatile metal, icoasagen, tetrel, pentel, chalcogen, transition metal, port-transition metal, metalloid, nonmetal, or lanthanoid.

In formula (I), M may be an element selected from the group consisting of Ca, Ti, Ge, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Sn, Sb, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Pt, Au, Tl, and Bi. In formula (I), M may be an element selected from the group consisting of Ag, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Nd, Os, Pd, Pr, Re, Rh, Sb, Se, Sm, Sn, Tl, and W. In formula (I), M may be an element selected from the group consisting of Bi, Ce, Sb, Se, and Sn.

Non-limiting examples of binary oxides of formula (I) may include Ir_(x)Ca_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Ti_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Ge_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Y_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Zr_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Nb_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Mo_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Rh_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Pd_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Ag_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Sn_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Sb_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Ba_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)La_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Ce_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Pr_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Nd_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Sm_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Eu_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Hf_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Ta_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)W_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Re_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Os_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Pt_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Au_(x-1)O₂, Ir_(x)Tl_(x-1)O₂, or Ir_(x)Bi_(x-1)O₂,

Further non-limiting examples of binary oxides of formula (I) may include Ir_(0.25)Ag_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Ag_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Ag_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Au_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Au_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Au_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Ba_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Ba_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Ba_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Bi_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Bi_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Ca_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Ca_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Ca_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Ce_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Ce_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Ce_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Eu_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Eu_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Eu_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Ge_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Ge_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Ge_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Hf_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Hf_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Hf_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)La_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)La_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)La_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Nd_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Nd_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Nd_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Os_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)OS_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Os_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Pd_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Pd_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Pd_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Pr_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Pr_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Pr_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Re_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Re_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Re_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Rh_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Rh_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Rh_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Sb_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Sb_(0.52), Ir_(0.75)Sb_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Se_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Se_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Se_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Sm_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Sm_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Sm_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Sn_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Sn_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Sn_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Tl_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Tl_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.75)Tl_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)W_(0.75)O₂, Ir_(0.5)W_(0.5)O₂, or Ir_(0.75)W_(0.25)O₂.

In one or more embodiments, another or second material may be disclosed. The material may be a ternary oxide. The material may be an OER catalyst material. The material may be a first, second, and/or third material. The material may include, comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of one or more compositions of formula (II):

Ir_(x)Bi_(y)M_(z)O₂  (II),

where x, y, z is each individually and independently any number between about 0.1 and 0.98, x+y+z=1, and M is an element from the Period 4, 5, or 6 of the Periodic Table of Elements.

In formula (II), x, y, and z may be each individually and independently about 0.1 and 0.99. x, y, and/or z may be about 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 0.10, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, 0.14, 0.15, 0.16, 0.17, 0.18, 0.19, 0.20, 0.21, 0.22, 0.23, 0.24, 0.25, 0.26, 0.27, 0.28, 0.29, 0.30, 0.31, 0.32, 0.33, 0.34, 0.35, 0.36, 0.37, 0.38, 0.39, 0.40, 0.41, 0.42, 0.43, 0.44, 0.45, 0.46, 0.47, 0.48, 0.49, 0.5, 0.51, 0.52, 0.53, 0.54, 0.55, 0.56, 0.57, 0.58, 0.59, 0.60, 0.61, 0.62, 0.63, 0.64, 0.65, 0.66, 0.67, 0.68, 0.69, 0.70, 0.71, 0.72, 0.73, 0.74, 0.75, 0.76, 0.77, 0.78, 0.79, 0.80, 0.81, 0.82, 0.83, 0.84, 0.85, 0.86, 0.87, 0.88, 0.89, 0.90, 0.91, 0.92, 0.93, 0.94, 0.95, 0.96, 0.97, 0.98, or a range including any two of the disclosed numerals. A non-limiting example of the range for x, y, and/or z may be about 0.10-0.90, 0.20-0.80, or 0.30-0.70. Another non-limiting example of the range for x, y, and/or z may be about 0.25-0.5, 0.5-0.75, or 0.25-0.75.

In formula (II), at least the following condition may apply: x+y+z=1.

In formula (II), M may be an element from Period 4 of the Periodic Table of Elements and may include Ca, Ti, Ge; Period 5 of the Periodic Table of Elements and may include Y Zr, Nb, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Sn, Sb; or Period 6 of the Periodic Table of Elements and may include Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Pt, Au, Tl, or Bi. In formula (I), M may be from Group IIA, IIIA, IVA, VA, VIA, IB, IIB, IIIB, IVB, VB, VIB, VIIB, or VIIIB. In formula (I), M may be an alkaline earth metal, coinage metal, volatile metal, icoasagen, tetrel, pentel, chalcogen, transition metal, port-transition metal, metalloid, nonmetal, or lanthanoid.

In formula (II), M may be an element from the Period 4 of the Periodic Table of Elements and may include Se, Period 4 of the Periodic Table of Elements and may include Sb, or Period 6 of the Periodic Table of Elements and may include Ce. In formula (II), M may be an element from Group VA, VIA, or IIIB. In formula (II), M may be a chalcanoid, metalloid, metal, lanthanoid, or nonmetal.

In formula (I), M may be an element selected from the group consisting of Ca, Ti, Ge, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Rh, Pd, Ag, Sn, Sb, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Pt, Au, T, and Bi. In formula (II), M may be Se, Sb, or Ce. In formula (II), M may be selected from the group consisting of Se, Sb, and Ce.

Non-limiting example ternary oxides of formula (II) may include Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)Se_(0.33)O₂, Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)Sn_(0.33)O₂, Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)Sb_(0.33)O₂, Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)Ce_(0.33)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.25)Se_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.5)Se_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Bi_(0.25)Se_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.25)Sn_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.5)Sn_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Bi_(0.25)Sn_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.25)Sb_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.5)Sb_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.5)Bi_(0.25)Sb_(0.25)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.25)Ce_(0.5)O₂, Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.5)Ce_(0.25)O₂, or Ir_(0.5)Bi_(0.25)Ce_(0.25)O₂.

In one or more embodiments, the material of formula (I) may be combined with the material of formula (II). In one or more embodiments, a MEA may include one composition, at least one composition, or more than one composition of the material of formula (I) and one composition, at least one composition, or more than one composition of the material of formula (II).

One or more oxides of the formulas (I), (II), or both may form a protective, stabilizing, and/or active layer. The material of the formulas (I), (II), or both may form an internal layer, external layer, or both with respect to adjoining, adjacent, or integral bulk region. The bulk region may be an electrode. The electrode may be an anode, cathode, or both of a MEA, PEM electrolyzer, or PEMFC. The material and/or the layer including the material may form a catalyst or be part of a catalyst. The catalyst may be a part of a MEA, PEM electrolyzer, or PEMFC electrode. The material of the formula (I), (II), or both may be used as an OER catalyst in a MEA (e.g. MEA of a PEMFC or an electrolyzer MEA), an anode OER catalyst in a PEM electrolyzer, or as an additive or OER catalyst in a PEMFC anode. Alternatively, the material of formula (I), (II), or both may be used on a PEMFC cathode.

The material may be in a form of nanoparticles. The nanoparticles may have the same or different size, diameter, dimensions, orientation, structure, facets content, composition in each layer. The loading of the oxides of the formulas (I), (II), or both may be different or the same within the layer(s). It is contemplated that more than one layer including the oxides of the formulas (I), (II), or both may be formed. The layers may have the same or different architecture, loading of individual oxides, types of oxides, size of the oxide nanoparticles, the like, or a combination thereof.

Furthermore, variation of catalyst loading levels (e.g., gradient) may be used to lead to different OER activities and current density within the catalyst material/catalyst layer/electrode/cell/stack/MEA/electrolyzer/PEMFC. In other words, homogenization of the current density may be realized by tailoring the catalyst material/catalyst layer/electrode/cell/stack/MEA/electrolyzer/PEMFC by redistributing the catalyst loading.

The material of formula (I), (II), or both may be used in addition to traditional electrolyzer catalyst material(s) such as Ir, Ru, Ir—Ru, IrO₂, RuO₂, Ir—Ru—O. The material of the formula (I), (II), or both may replace a portion of the traditional electrolyzer catalyst material, especially toward the bulk region of the nanoparticles. For example, about 5 to 99, 10 to 80, or 20 to 70 wt. % of the traditional electrolyzer catalyst material may be replaced with the material of the formula (I), (II), or both. For example, about 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 99, 100 wt. % of the traditional electrolyzer catalyst material may be replaced with the material of the formula (I), (II), or both. In a non-limiting specific example, an OER catalyst includes about 20 to 40 wt. % of Ir, Ru, Ir—Ru, IrO₂, RuO₂, Ir—Ru—O, or a combination thereof, and the remainder such as about 60 to 80 wt. % of the material of the formula (I), (II), or both.

The material of choice for the OER catalyst may be tailored to a specific application. For example, a more stable oxide of the formula (I), (II), or both may be placed within the MEA stack, electrolyzer stack, or PEMFC stack in the location requiring higher stability. Alternatively, or in addition, a more active oxide of the formula (I), (II), or both may be placed within the MEA stack, electrolyzer stack, or PEMFC stack in the location requiring higher activity. The MEA, electrolyzer, or PEMFC stack may thus be designed to maximize activity and stability by using different oxides of the formula (I), (II), or both in different locations.

For example, it was discovered that Bi-containing oxide of the formula (I), (II), or both is more stable than IrO₂. It was also discovered that Se-, Sb-, and Ce-containing oxides of the formula (I), (II), or both have increased activity in comparison to IrO₂. Thus, an electrolyzer or PEMFC cell and/or stack may include a first material including Bi-containing oxide of the formula (I), (II), or both to increase stability and/or a second material including Se-, Sb-, and Ce-containing oxides of the formula (I), (II), or both to increase activity. The first and second material may be used to partially or entirely replace a traditional MEA material/electrolyzer material/PEMFC electrode material, the third material, or be included together with the third material.

In the MEA, electrolyzer, and/or PEMFC region(s) that experience the least degradation, the performance and cost may be optimized by selecting the material of formula (I), (II), or both, structured to deliver the highest catalytic activity. In the non-limiting example, the region(s), cell(s), layer(s), catalyst(s), or a combination thereof may incorporate the material of formula (I), (II), or both including Se, Sn, Sb, Ce, Ti, Zr, Ta, W, Nb, Mo, Re, Ru, Os, or a combination thereof.

Similarly, the material of formula (I), (II), or both that are more stable may be utilized in the MEA, electrolyzer, and/or PEMFC region(s) that lead to a fast degradation. In a non-limiting example, the region(s), cell(s), layer(s), catalyst(s), may incorporate the material of formula (I), (II), or both including Bi, Y, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Ag, Hf; Ba, Rh, Pd, Pt, Au, Tl, or a combination thereof.

Table 1 shows oxides of formulas (I) and (II) having higher stability, higher activity, and equal activity and stability with respect to IrO₂.

TABLE 1 Reaction tendency of species in comparison to IrO₂ Higher stability than IrO₂ Bi, Sm, La, Nd Higher activity than IrO₂ Ce, Se, Zr, Sb, Ti, Ta, W, Nb, Mo Equal stability and activity as IrO₂ Sn, Pr

The material may be further arranged such that different MEA within a single stack include different disclosed species at various locations, depending on susceptibility to corrosion and desired performance (activity, stability). For example, a MEA stack may include a first material with one or more species of the material of formula (I), (II), or both in a number of first cell(s). A number of second cell(s), adjacent to the first cell(s), may include the disclosed material of formula (I), (II), or both with at least partially or completely different species/elements/M. A number of third cell(s) adjacent to the second cell(s) on the opposite side than the first cell(s) may include the material of formula (I), (II), or both with yet different species than the first and second cell(s). Alternatively, the second cell(s) may be adjacent to the first cell(s) on both sides. It is contemplated that various arrangements may be made within the MEA, PEM electrolyzer, PEMFC stack(s).

In a non-limiting example, shown in FIG. 3 , a MEA stack 50 features first cells 52, second cells 54, and third cells 56. The first cells 52, the second cells 54, and the third cells 56 each have a different composition of the catalyst material of the formulas (I), (II), or both. For example, the second cell(s) 54 may include the material of formulas (I), (II), or both focused on increasing activity of the catalyst material/catalyst layer/electrode/cell/stack/MEA/electrolyzer/PEMFC, the third cell(s) 56 may include the material of formulas (I), (II), or both focused on increasing stability of the catalyst material/catalyst layer/electrode/cell/stack/MEA, and the first cell(s) 52 may include the material of formula (I), (II), or both focused on sustainability, practicality, and lower production price of the catalyst material/catalyst layer/electrode/cell/stack/MEA, thus replacing a higher volume or traditional OER catalyst materials than the second and third cell(s) 54, 56.

The material of the formulas (I), (II), or both may be synthesized in the following manner. Metal containing precursors of the disclosed species may be annealed with desired stoichiometric amount in oxidizing (air or O₂) or reducing heat treatment condition using N₂, Ar, or H₂ mixture gas. The heat treatment temperature may range from about 150 to 1500° C. to yield a desired ternary oxides or doped composition. The heat treatment time may vary from about 30 seconds to 48 hrs. The metal precursors may be prepared by solid-state synthesis route (e.g., ball milling process), co-precipitation process (e.g., solution-based process), sol-gel process, hydrothermal process, or the like. The oxide specie(s) may be deposited on to a designated support materials (carbon, metal, ceramic, etc.) during the synthesis process or as a post-treatment step. Deposition techniques may include, but are not limited to, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, or solution-based approach, etc.

The electrode fabrication may include the following process. The oxide or the oxide on a support (see above) may be deposited on a membrane, a decal material, or a PTL with an ink containing additional ionomer and solvent(s) using typical deposition technique, followed by drying and/or annealing steps.

To reveal the structural and morphological details of the herein-disclosed oxide materials, X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique may be used to identify crystal structure. Different crystal structures may be found: e.g., cubic, tetragonal, trigonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, etc. It may be possible to find other XRD peaks due to impurity and/or phase decomposition. For more accurate size distribution, high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) imaging technique may be used.

The above-mentioned material of the formulas (I) and (II) was identified using database-driven materials screening. While typically, a surface-based slab DFT model may be used to understand thermodynamic stability, metal mixing, element segregation toward surface or bulk, OER activity, and durability, both human and CPU times are quite expensive to build DFT slab models, carry out atomistic simulation, and analyze the results. Additionally, while the DFT slab models are ideal for a simple metal or a binary oxide system such as pure Ir, Ru, IrO₂, and RuO₂, even modeling binary metallic catalyst such as Ir_(x)R_(1-x) becomes very complicated due to the increased degree of freedoms in structural generation. Instead, a different approach was adopted to identify suitable material to replace the traditional electrolyzer and PEMFC electrode materials. The approach is described below in the Experimental section.

Experimental Section

In the first step, RuO₂, IrO₂, and PtO₂ were examined against corrosive species H, H₃O, OH, OOH, O, and CO. Analysis of various reaction enthalpy E_(rxn)(eV/atom) values of the studied species in reducing and oxidizing reactions revealed tendencies of Ru and Ir compositions to lean more towards either higher activity or higher stability. For example, RuO₂ typically shows enhanced OER performance—i.e., more activity than IrO₂—but leads to poor stability due to corrosion from the strong acidity at the perfluorosulfonic membrane and high anodic potential at OER. On the other hand, IrO₂ is a more resistive material to OER in the acidic environment, but IrO₂ exhibits lower performance than RuO₂. Other Ir and Ru compositions were studied. Specific reaction parameters which reveal tendencies of materials to be more active (like RuO₂) or more stable (like IrO₂) were identified. The relevant reaction parameters were then studied with respect to 56 elements of the Periodic Table: Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, Se, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, In, Sn, Sb, Te, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Pt, Au, Tl, and Bi.

The “interface reactions” module kit, publicly available from materialsproject.org was used. The decomposition products of Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂, where M represented each element named above, was conducted. The loading of Ir was chosen to be higher than loading of M. Because PEM electrolyzer operates in acidic conditions, the decomposition products of the studied material should be “acid stable.” Decomposition products of each studied element were identified, and stable compositions determined. The Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ compositions with stable decomposition products included M=Ca, Ti, Ge, Se, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Sn, Sb, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Pt, Au, Tl, and Bi.

Next, the thermodynamic decomposition of Ir_(0.75)Mo₂₅O₂ at its given chemical space was studied. For example, Ir_(0.75)Ru_(0.25)O_(0.2) tends to thermodynamically decompose to 0.75 IrO₂ and 0.25 RuO₂, where both oxides belong to a tetragonal crystal system (P4₂/mnm). But Ir_(0.75)Pt_(0.25)O₂ thermodynamically decomposes to 0.75 IrO₂ and 0.25 PtO₂. PtO₂ belongs to orthorhombic crystal system (Pnnm). Each phase mixture was examined to evaluate whether the decomposition products are tetragonal or non-tetragonal structures. Percentage of non-tetragonal phase in all phase mixtures was determined, and penalty points (PP) based on this value were assigned to non-tetragonal structures. Table 2 summarizes the thermodynamic decomposition reactions for Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O_(0.2) and their assigned penalty points (PP_(dcmp)).

TABLE 2 Thermodynamic decomposition of Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ products with penalty points assigned to non-tetragonal structures and acid stability M Decomposition Reaction PP_(dcmp) Acid Stability Ca Ca_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 IrO₃ + 0.25 CaIrO₃ + 0.25 IrO₂ 0.667 Maybe (Ca²⁺ unstable) Ti Ti_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 TiO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.000 Passivates (TiO₂) Ge Ge_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 GeO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.250 Stable Se Ir_(0.75)Se_(0.25)O₂ → 0.75 IrO₂ + 0.25 SeO₂ 0.000 Passivates (SeO₂) Y Y_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.125 IrO₃ + 0.125 Y₂Ir₂O₇ + 0.375 IrO₂ 0.400 Maybe (Y³⁺ unstable) Zr Zr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 ZrO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.250 Passivates (ZrO₂) Nb Nb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.125 Nb₂O₅ + 0.062 Ir + 0.688 IrO₂ 0.214 Passivates (NbO_(x)) Mo Mo_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 MoO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.000 Passivates (MoO_(x)) Ru Ir_(0.75)Ru_(0.25)O₂ → 0.75 IrO₂ + 0.25 RuO₂ 0.000 Noble Metal (immune) Rh Ir_(0.75)Rh_(0.25)O₂ → 0.75 IrO₂ + 0.25 RhO₂ 0.000 Noble Metal (immune) Pd Ir_(0.75)Pd_(0.25)O₂ → 0.25 PdO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.000 Noble Metal (immune) Ag Ag_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.083 Ag₃O₄ + 0.167 IrO₃ + 0.583 IrO₂ 0.300 Noble Metal (immune) Sn Sn_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 SnO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.000 Passivates (SnO₂) Sb Sb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 SbO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.250 Passivates (SbO_(x)) Ba Ba_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 Ba(IrO₃)₂ + 0.25 IrO₂ 0.500 Maybe (Ba²⁺ unstable) La La_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.083 La₃Ir₃O₁₁ + 0.083 IrO₃ + 0.417 IrO₂ 0.285 Maybe (La³⁺ unstable) Ce Ce_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 CeO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.250 Passivates (CeO₂) Pr Pr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.083 Pr₃IrO₇ + 0.083 IrO₃ + 0.583 IrO₂ 0.222 Maybe (Pr³⁺ unstable) Nd Nd_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.083 Nd₃IrO₇ + 0.083 IrO₃ + 0.583 IrO₂ 0.222 Maybe (Nd³⁺ unstable) Sm Sm_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.083 IrO₃ + 0.083 Sm₃IrO₇ + 0.583 IrO₂ 0.222 Maybe (Sm³⁺ unstable Eu Eu_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.125 IrO₃ + 0.125 Eu₂Ir₂O₇ + 0.375 IrO₂ 0.400 Maybe Eu³⁺ unstable) Hf Hf_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 HfO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.250 Passivates (HfO₂) Ta Ta_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.125 Ta₂O₅ + 0.062 Ir + 0.688 IrO₂ 0.143 Passivates (Ta₂O₅) W Ir_(0.75)W_(0.25)O₂ → 0.25 WO₃ + 0.625 IrO₂ + 0.125 Ir 0.000 Passivates (WO₃) Re Re_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.25 ReO₃ + 0.125 Ir + 0.625 IrO₂ 0.250 Passivates (ReO₂) Os Ir_(0.75)Os_(0.25)O₂ → 0.75 IrO₂ + 0.25 OsO₂ 0.250 Passivates (OsO_(x)) Pt Ir_(0.75)Pt_(0.25)O₂ → 0.25 PtO₂ + 0.75 IrO₂ 0.250 Noble Metal (immune) Au Ir_(0.75)Au_(0.25)O₂ → 0.125 IrO₃ + 0.625 IrO₂ + 0.125 Au₂O₃ 0.375 Noble Metal (immune) Tl Tl_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.125 IrO₃ + 0.125 Tl₂O₃ + 0.625 IrO₂ 0.286 Passivates (Tl₂O₃) Bi Bi_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.083 Bi₃Ir₃O₁₁ + 0.083 IrO₃ + 0.417 IrO₂ 0.285 Passivates (BiO_(x))

Generally, noble metals are immune in the acidic region, and there are metals that passivate (e.g., TiO₂) which are also stable in the acidic regions. Some metals that are known to be not stable in the acid (e.g., Ca) when decomposition product is not a pure metal or a binary oxide but forms a ternary oxide (e.g., CaIrO₃) were included.

Further analysis included testing of chemical reactivity of each oxide system in oxidizing conditions (against OH, OOH, 0), reducing conditions (against H and H₃O), and CO poisoning or carbon corrosion at high potential: CO+H₂O→H₂+CO₂.

For studying these reactions, each ternary oxide was tested during the most thermodynamically stable reaction pathway (i.e., at its minimum reaction enthalpy in 2D phase space between ternary oxide catalyst phase and H, H₃O, OH, OOH, O, and CO). IrO₂ catalyst was chosen as a reference material to evaluate each Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ phase. A phase diagram between H₃O (representative oxidizing agent: H₂O+H) and IrO₂ PEM electrolyzer catalyst was generated. The phase diagram is shown in FIG. 4 , where the molar fraction (x) indicates the amount of H₃O and IrO₂. For example, x=0 represents pure IrO₂, and x=1 represents 100% H₃O. The most stable reaction between two species takes place at its minimum reaction enthalpy Ern. As can be seen in FIG. 4 , the strongest decomposition reaction occurs at molar fraction x=0.8, where 0.8H₃O and 0.2IrO₂ react to form 0.2 Ir and 1.2 H₂O as decomposition products. The reaction enthalpy (E_(Rxn)) between H₃O and IrO₂ is −0.238 eV/atom.

The most thermodynamically stable reaction (at minimum E_(rxn)) for each studied Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ ternary oxide catalyst phase was determined and compared to IrO₂. Evaluating such reactions against H, H₃O, OH, OOH, O, and CO (also called the PEM electrolyzer species) accounts for situations, where both PEM electrolyzer species and potential catalyst materials are abundantly present, where decomposition reactions may proceed at the minimum reaction enthalpy (i.e., the most favorable condition). By evaluating these reactions, the following information was obtained: (1) the amount of species (H, H₃O, OH, OOH, O, and CO) each ternary oxide catalyst is capable of consuming at its thermodynamic equilibrium and (2) how favorable is the most stable decomposition reaction (i.e., what is the magnitude of E_(rxn,min)).

Tables 3 and 4 summarize the H and H₃O reactions respectively for Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂. For Tables 3 and 4, when molar ratio is different between H/oxide, normalization to H/oxide of IrO₂, which is 2, was made. For example, Ba_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ in Table 3 shows lower H/oxide value (1.75) when compared to IrO₂. Normalization of H/oxide=2 for Ba_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ further increases the E_(rxn) to a higher value. A higher H or H₃O/oxide ratio indicates that an OER catalyst can take more PEM electrolyzer species per mol. It was discovered that in the reducing conditions, a lower H or H₃O/oxide ratio and increased E_(rxn,H) values indicate more active OER catalyst (RuO₂-like) and a higher H or H₃O/oxide ratio and lower E_(rxn,H) values indicate more stable OER catalyst (IrO₂-like).

TABLE 3 Chemical reactivity of Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ against H Ref. H₂ Reaction for IrO₂ H/oxide E_(rxn, H) IrO₂ 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 IrO₂ → 0.2 Ir + 0.4 H₂O 2.00 −0.646 M H₂ Reaction for Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ H/oxide E_(rxn, H) Ca 0.389 H₂ + 0.222 Ca_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.056 Ca(HO)₂ + 0.333 H₂O + 0.167 Ir 1.75 −0.685 Ti 0.375 H₂ + 0.25 Ti_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.375 H₂O + 0.063 TiO₂ + 0.188 Ir 1.50 −0.565 Ge 0.375 H₂ + 0.25 Ge_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.062 GeO₂ + 0.375 H₂O + 0.187 Ir 1.50 −0.565 Se 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Se_(0.25)O₂ → 0.025 IrSe₂ + 0.4 H₂O + 0.125 Ir 2.00 −0.675 Y 0.3825 H₂ + 0.235 Y_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.059 YHO₂ + 0.353 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 1.63 −0.621 Zr 0.375 H₂ + 0.25 Zr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.375 H₂O + 0.063 ZrO₂ + 0.188 Ir 1.50 −0.565 Nb 0.368 H₂ + 0.264 Nb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.368 H₂O + 0.005 Nb₁₂O₂₉ + 0.198 Ir 1.39 −0.541 Mo 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Mo_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.4 H₂O + 0.05 MoIr₃ 2.00 −0.602 Ru 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Ru_(0.25)O₂ → 0.05 Ir₃Ru + 0.4 H₂O 2.00 −0.631 Rh 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Rh_(0.25)O₂ → 0.05 Ir₃Rh + 0.4 H₂O 2.00 −0.653 Pd 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Pd_(0.25)O₂ → 0.4 H₂O + 0.05 Pd + 0.15 Ir 2.00 −0.703 Ag 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Ag_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.4 H₂O + 0.05 Ag + 0.15 Ir 2.00 −0.743 Sn 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Sn_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.4 H₂O + 0.05 SnIr + 0.1 Ir 2.00 −0.572 Sb 0.2 Sb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.4 H₂ → 0.025 Sb₂Ir + 0.4 H₂O + 0.125 Ir 2.00 −0.604 Ba 0.389 H₂ + 0.222 Ba_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.056 BaH₈O₅ + 0.167 H₂O + 0.167 Ir 1.75 −0.634 La 0.3825 H₂ + 0.235 La_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.059 La(HO)₃ + 0.294 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 1.63 −0.615 Ce 0.375 H₂ + 0.25 Ce_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.062 CeO₂ + 0.375 H₂O + 0.187 Ir 1.50 −0.565 Pr 0.235 Pr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.3825 H₂ → 0.059 Pr(HO)₃ + 0.294 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 1.63 −0.625 Nd 0.3825 H₂ + 0.235 Nd_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.059 Nd(HO)₃ + 0.294 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 1.63 −0.624 Sm 0.3825 H₂ + 0.235 Sm_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.059 Sm(HO)₃ + 0.294 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 1.63 −0.621 Eu 0.3845 H₂ + 0.231 Eu_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.019 Eu₃O₄ + 0.385 H₂O + 0.173 Ir 1.66 −0.607 Hf 0.375 H₂ + 0.25 Hf_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.375 H₂O + 0.063 HfO₂ + 0.188 Ir 1.50 −0.565 Ta 0.3665 H₂ + 0.267 Ta_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.367 H₂O + 0.033 Ta₂O₅ + 0.2 Ir 1.37 −0.540 W 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)W_(0.25)O₂ → 0.05 Ir₃W + 0.4 H₂O 2.00 −0.591 Re 0.2 Re_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.4 H₂ → 0.05 ReIr₃ + 0.4 H₂O 2.00 −0.565 Os 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Os_(0.25)O₂ → 0.4 H₂O + 0.05 Os + 0.15 Ir 2.00 −0.637 Pt 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Pt_(0.25)O₂ → 0.4 H₂O + 0.05 Pt + 0.15 Ir 2.00 −0.681 Au 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Au_(0.25)O₂ → 0.4 H₂O + 0.05 Au + 0.15 Ir 2.00 −0.737 Tl 0.4 H₂ + 0.2 Tl_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.4 H₂O + 0.05 Tl + 0.15 Ir 2.00 −0.679 Bi 0.2 Bi_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.4 H₂ → 0.4 H₂O + 0.025 Bi₂Ir + 0.125 Ir 2.00 −0.623

TABLE 4 Chemical reactivity of Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ against H₃O Ref. H₃O Reaction for IrO₂ Ratio E_(rxn, H3O) IrO₂ 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 IrO₂ → 0.2 Ir + 1.2 H₂O 4.00 −0.238 M H₃O Reaction for Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ Ratio E_(rxn, H3O) Ca 0.778 H₃O + 0.222 Ca_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.056 Ca(HO)₂ + 1.111 H₂O + 0.167 Ir 3.50 −0.262 Ti 0.75 H₃O + 0.25 Ti_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 1.125 H₂O + 0.063 TiO₂ + 0.187 Ir 3.00 −0.226 Ge 0.75 H₃O + 0.25 Ge_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.063 GeO₂ + 1.125 H₂O + 0.188 Ir 3.00 −0.226 Se 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Se_(0.25)O₂ → 0.025 IrSe₂ + 1.2 H₂O + 0.125 Ir 4.00 −0.249 Y 0.765 H₃O + 0.235 Y_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.059 YHO₂ + 1.118 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 3.26 −0.243 Zr 0.75 H₃O + 0.25 Zr_(0.25)Ir0.75O₂ → 1.125 H₂O + 0.063 ZrO₂ + 0.187 Ir 3.00 −0.226 Nb 0.733 H₃O + 0.267 Nb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.033 Nb₂O₅ + 1.1 H₂O + 0.2 Ir 2.75 −0.222 Mo 0.75 H₃O + 0.25 Mo_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 1.125 H₂O + 0.063 MoO₂ + 0.187 Ir 3.00 −0.226 Ru 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Ru_(0.25)O₂ → 0.05 Ir₃Ru + 1.2 H₂O 4.00 −0.233 Rh 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Rh_(0.25)O₂ → 0.05 Ir₃Rh + 1.2 H₂O 4.00 −0.241 Pd 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Pd_(0.25)O₂ → 1.2 H₂O + 0.05 Pd + 0.15 Ir 4.00 −0.259 Ag 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 Ag_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 1.2 H₂O + 0.05 Ag + 0.15 Ir 4.00 −0.274 Sn 0.75 H₃O + 0.25 Sn_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.063 SnO₂ + 1.125 H₂O + 0.188 Ir 3.00 −0.226 Sb 0.235 Sb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.765 H₃O → 0.029 Sb₂O₃ + 1.147 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 3.26 −0.227 Ba 0.778 H₃O + 0.222 Ba_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.056 BaH₈O₅ + 0.944 H₂O + 0.167 Ir 3.50 −0.243 La 0.765 H₃O + 0.235 La_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.059 La(HO)₃ + 1.059 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 3.26 −0.240 Ce 0.75 H₃O + 0.25 Ce_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.063 CeO₂ + 1.125 H₂O + 0.188 Ir 3.00 −0.226 Pr 0.235 Pr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.765 H₃O → 0.059 Pr(HO)₃ + 1.059 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 3.26 −0.244 Nd 0.765 H₃O + 0.235 Nd_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.059 Nd(HO)₃ + 1.059 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 3.26 −0.244 Sm 0.765 H₃O + 0.235 Sm_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.059 Sm(HO)₃ + 1.059 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 3.26 −0.243 Eu 0.765 H₃O + 0.235 Eu_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.029 Eu₂O₃ + 1.147 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 3.26 −0.236 Hf 0.75 H₃O + 0.25 Hf_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 1.125 H₂O + 0.063 HfO₂ + 0.187 Ir 3.00 −0.226 Ta 0.733 H₃O + 0.267 Ta_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 1.1 H₂O + 0.033 Ta₂O₅ + 0.2 Ir 2.75 −0.222 W 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)W_(0.25)O₂ → 0.05 Ir₃W + 1.2 H₂O 4.00 −0.218 Re 0.286 Re_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.714 H₃O → 0.071 ReO₃ + 1.071 H₂O + 0.214 Ir 2.50 −0.217 Os 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Os_(0.25)O₂ → 1.2 H₂O + 0.05 Os + 0.15 Ir 4.00 −0.235 Pt 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Pt_(0.25)O₂ → 1.2 H₂O + 0.05 Pt + 0.15 Ir 4.00 −0.251 Au 0.8 H₃O + 0.2 Ir_(0.75)Au_(0.25)O₂ → 1.2 H₂O + 0.05 Au + 0.15 Ir 4.00 −0.272 Tl 0.789 H₃O + 0.211 Tl_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.026 Tl₂O + 1.184 H₂O + 0.158 Ir 3.74 −0.253 Bi 0.235 Bi_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.765 H₃O → 0.029 Bi₂O₃ + 1.147 H₂O + 0.176 Ir 3.26 −0.239

Tables 5, 6, and 7 summarize Ir-M-O chemical reactivity with OH, OOH, and O at its most stable thermodynamic reaction between the OER catalyst and the PEM electrolyzer species. In Tables 5, 6, and 7, when molar ratio is different between the oxidizing agent and the catalyst, normalization to 2 was made. For example, the ratio between OH and IrO₂ in Table 5 is 2—i.e., 0.667 OH (or, 0.333 H₂O₂) per 0.333 IrO₂. Ir_(0.75)NB_(0.25)O₂ in Table 5 shows lower OH/oxide value (1.75) when compared to IrO₂. Normalization of OH/oxide to 2 for Ir_(0.75)Nb_(0.25)O₂ increases the E_(rxn) to become a higher value. A higher OH, OOH, or O/oxide ratio indicates that an OER catalyst can take more PEM electrolyzer species per mol. In the oxidizing conditions, the goal was to identify a higher amount of OH, OOH, or O per oxide, meaning, the OER catalyst is capable of absorbing more PEM electrolyzer species per mol. It was discovered that in the oxidizing conditions, a higher OH, OOH, or O/oxide ratio and lower E_(rxn,H) values indicate more active OER catalyst (RuO₂-like) and a lower OH, OOH, or O/oxide ratio and higher E_(rxn,H) values indicate more stable OER catalyst (IrO₂-like).

TABLE 5 Chemical reactivity of Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ against OH Ref. OH Reaction for IrO₂ Ratio E_(rxn, OH) IrO₂ 0.333 H₂O₂ + 0.333 IrO₂ → 0.333 IrO₃ + 0.333 H₂O 2.00 −0.070 M OH Reaction for Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ Ratio E_(rxn, OH) Ca 0.25 H₂O₂ + 0.5 Ca_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.375 IrO₃ + 0.125 Ca(HO)₂ + 0.125 H₂O 1.00 −0.062 Ti 0.3 H₂O₂ + 0.4 Ti_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.3 IrO₃ + 0.3 H₂O + 0.1 TiO₂ 1.50 −0.061 Ge 0.3 H₂O₂ + 0.4 Ge_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.3 IrO₃ + 0.1 GeO₂ + 0.3 H₂O 1.50 −0.061 Se 0.357 H₂O₂ + 0.286 Ir_(0.75)Se_(0.25)O₂ → 0.071 H₁₀SeO₈ + 0.214 IrO₃ + 0.036 O₂ 2.50 −0.086 Y 0.278 H₂O₂ + 0.444 Y_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.333 IrO₃ + 0.111 YHO₂ + 0.222 H₂O 1.25 −0.055 Zr 0.429 H₂O₂ + 0.571 Zr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.429 H₂O + 0.143 ZrO₂ 1.50 −0.061 Nb 0.318 H₂O₂ + 0.364 Nb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.273 IrO₃ + 0.045 Nb₂O₅ + 0.318 H₂O 1.75 −0.100 Mo 0.1665 H₂O₂ + 0.667 Mo_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.167 MoO₃ + 0.167 H₂O + 0.5 IrO₂ 0.50 −0.124 Ru 0.556 H₂O₂ + 0.444 Ir_(0.75)Ru_(0.25)O₂ → 0.333 IrO₃ + 0.111 RuO₄ + 0.556 H₂O  2.505 −0.115 Rh 0.3 H₂O₂ + 0.4 Ir_(0.75)Rh_(0.25)O₂ → 0.3 IrO₃ + 0.3 H₂O + 0.1 RhO₂ 1.50 −0.061 Pd 0.3 H₂O₂ + 0.4 Ir_(0.75)Pd_(0.25)O₂ → 0.3 IrO₃ + 0.1 PdO₂ + 0.3 H₂O 1.50 −0.061 Ag 0.385 H₂O₂ + 0.615 Ag_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.154 AgHO₂ + 0.462 IrO₃ + 0.308 H₂O 1.25 −0.057 Sn 0.3 H₂O₂ + 0.4 Sn_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.3 IrO₃ + 0.1 SnO₂ + 0.3 H₂O 1.50 −0.061 Sb 0.364 Sb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.318 H₂O₂ → 0.273 IrO₃ + 0.045 Sb₂O₅ + 0.318 H₂O 1.75 −0.086 Ba 0.1665 H₂O₂ + 0.667 Ba_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.167 Ba(IrO₃)₂ + 0.167 IrO₃ + 0.167 H₂O 0.50 −0.031 La 0.269 H₂O₂ + 0.462 La_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.308 IrO₃ + 0.038 La₃IrO₇ + 0.269 H₂O 1.16 −0.050 Ce 0.429 H₂O₂ + 0.571 Ce_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 CeO₂ + 0.429 H₂O 1.50 −0.061 Pr 0.444 Pr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.278 H₂O₂ → 0.333 IrO₃ + 0.111 Pr(HO)₃ + 0.111 H₂O 1.25 −0.059 Nd 0.278 H₂O₂ + 0.444 Nd_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.333 IrO₃ + 0.111 Nd(HO)₃ + 0.111 H₂O 1.25 −0.057 Sm 0.269 H₂O₂ + 0.462 Sm_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.308 IrO₃ + 0.038 Sm₃IrO₇ + 0.269 H₂O 1.16 −0.054 Eu 0.273 H₂O₂ + 0.727 Eu_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.364 IrO₃ + 0.091 Eu₂Ir₂O₇ + 0.273 H₂O 0.75 −0.041 Hf 0.3 H₂O₂ + 0.4 Hf_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.3 IrO₃ + 0.3 H₂O + 0.1 HfO₂ 1.50 −0.061 Ta 0.318 H₂O₂ + 0.364 Ta_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.273 IrO₃ + 0.318 H₂O + 0.045 Ta₂O₅ 1.75 −0.100 W 0.1665 H₂O₂ + 0.667 Ir_(0.75)W_(0.25)O₂ → 0.167 WO₃ + 0.5 IrO₂ + 0.167 H₂O 0.50 −0.140 Re 0.571 Re_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.2145 H₂O₂ → 0.143 ReH₃O₅ + 0.429 IrO₂ 0.75 −0.170 Os 0.25 H₂O₂ + 0.5 Ir_(0.75)Os_(0.25)O₂ → 0.125 OsO₄ + 0.375 IrO₂ + 0.25 H₂O 1.00 −0.215 Pt 0.3 H₂O₂ + 0.4 Ir_(0.75)Pt_(0.25)O₂ → 0.3 IrO₃ + 0.1 PtO₂ + 0.3 H₂O 1.50 −0.061 Au 0.278 H₂O₂ + 0.444 Ir_(0.75)Au_(0.25)O₂ → 0.333 IrO₃ + 0.278 H₂O + 0.056 Au₂O₃ 1.25 −0.056 Tl 0.278 H₂O₂ + 0.444 Tl_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.333 IrO₃ + 0.056 Tl₂O₃ + 0.278 H₂O 1.25 −0.056 Bi 0.4 Bi_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.3 H₂O₂ → 0.1 BiO₂ + 0.3 IrO₃ + 0.3 H₂O 1.50 −0.059

TABLE 6 Chemical reactivity of Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ against OOH Ref. OOH Reaction for IrO₂ Ratio E_(rxn, OOH) IrO₂ 0.4 HO₂ + 0.6 IrO₂ → 0.6 IrO₃ + 0.2 H₂O 0.67 −0.032 M OOH Reaction for Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ Ratio E_(rxn, OOH) Ca 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Ca_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 Ca(HO)₂ + 0.083 O₂ 0.50 −0.032 Ti 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Ti_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 H₂O + 0.167 TiO₂ 0.50 −0.027 Ge 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Ge_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 GeO₂ + 0.167 H₂O 0.50 −0.027 Se 0.4 HO₂ + 0.6 Ir_(0.75)Se_(0.25)O₂ → 0.05 H₄SeO₅ + 0.45 IrO₃ + 0.1 H₂SeO₄ 0.67 −0.048 Y 0.294 HO₂ + 0.706 Y_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.529 IrO₃ + 0.176 YHO₂ + 0.059 H₂O 0.42 −0.022 Zr 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Zr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 H₂O + 0.167 ZrO₂ 0.50 −0.027 Nb 0.368 HO₂ + 0.632 Nb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.474 IrO₃ + 0.079 Nb₂O₅ + 0.184 H₂O 0.58 −0.076 Mo 0.143 HO₂ + 0.857 Mo_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.214 MoO₃ + 0.071 H₂O + 0.643 IrO₂ 0.17 −0.119 Ru 0.25 HO₂ + 0.75 Ir_(0.75)Ru_(0.25)O₂ → 0.187 RuO₄ + 0.563 IrO₂ + 0.125 H₂O 0.33 −0.098 Rh 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Ir_(0.75)Rh_(0.25)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 H₂O + 0.167 RhO₂ 0.50 −0.027 Pd 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Ir_(0.75)Pd_(0.25)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 PdO₂ + 0.167 H₂O 0.50 −0.027 Ag 0.294 HO₂ + 0.706 Ag_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.176 AgHO₂ + 0.529 IrO₃ + 0.059 H₂O 0.42 −0.026 Sn 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Sn_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 SnO₂ + 0.167 H₂O 0.50 −0.027 Sb 0.632 Sb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.368 HO₂ → 0.474 IrO₃ + 0.079 Sb₂O₅ + 0.184 H₂O 0.58 −0.058 Ba 0.143 HO₂ + 0.857 Ba_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.214 Ba(IrO₃)₂ + 0.214 IrO₃ + 0.071 H₂O 0.17 −0.012 La 0.28 HO₂ + 0.72 La_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.48 IrO₃ + 0.06 La₃IrO₇ + 0.14 H₂O 0.39 −0.018 Ce 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Ce_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 CeO₂ + 0.167 H₂O 0.50 −0.027 Pr 0.712 Pr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.288 HO₂ → 0.027 Pr₃IrO₇ + 0.507 IrO₃ + 0.096 Pr(HO)₃ 0.40 −0.026 Nd 0.288 HO₂ + 0.712 Nd_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.027 Nd₃IrO₇ + 0.507 IrO₃ + 0.096 Nd(HO)₃ 0.40 −0.024 Sm 0.28 HO₂ + 0.72 Sm_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.48 IrO₃ + 0.06 Sm₃IrO₇ + 0.14 H₂O 0.39 −0.023 Eu 0.2 HO₂ + 0.8 Eu_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.4 IrO₃ + 0.1 Eu₂Ir₂O₇ + 0.1 H₂O 0.25 −0.016 Hf 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Hf_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 H₂O + 0.167 HfO₂ 0.50 −0.027 Ta 0.368 HO₂ + 0.632 Ta_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.474 IrO₃ + 0.184 H₂O + 0.079 Ta₂O₅ 0.58 −0.076 W 0.143 HO₂ + 0.857 Ir_(0.75)W_(0.25)O₂ → 0.214 WO₃ + 0.643 IrO₂ + 0.071 H₂O 0.17 −0.136 Re 0.8 Re_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.2 HO₂ → 0.067 ReH₃O₅ + 0.067 Re₂O₇ + 0.6 IrO₂ 0.25 −0.168 Os 0.25 HO₂ + 0.75 Ir_(0.75)Os_(0.25)O₂ → 0.187 OsO₄ + 0.563 IrO₂ + 0.125 H₂O 0.33 −0.228 Pt 0.333 HO₂ + 0.667 Ir_(0.75)Pt_(0.25)O₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 PtO₂ + 0.167 H₂O 0.50 −0.027 Au 0.294 HO₂ + 0.706 Ir_(0.75)Au_(0.25)O₂ → 0.529 IrO₃ + 0.147 H₂O + 0.088 Au₂O₃ 0.42 −0.024 Tl 0.294 HO₂ + 0.706 Tl_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.529 IrO₃ + 0.088 Tl₂O₃ + 0.147 H₂O 0.42 −0.024 Bi 0.667 Bi_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.333 HO₂ → 0.167 BiO₂ + 0.5 IrO₃ + 0.167 H₂O 0.50 −0.023

TABLE 7 Chemical reactivity of Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ against O₂ Ref. O₂ Reaction for IrO₂ Ratio E_(rxn, O) IrO₂ 0.25 O₂ + 0.5 IrO₂ → 0.5 IrO₃ 0.50 −0.040 M O→ Reaction for Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O→ Ratio E_(rxn, O) Ca 0.2 O₂ + 0.8 Ca_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.6 IrO₃ + 0.2 CaO 0.25 −0.015 Ti 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Ti_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 TiO₂ 0.38 −0.032 Ge 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Ge_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 GeO₂ 0.38 −0.032 Se 0.2335 O₂ + 0.533 Ir_(0.75)Se_(0.25)O₂ → 0.067 Se₂O₅ + 0.4 IrO₃ 0.44 −0.039 Y 0.238 O₂ + 0.762 Y_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.571 IrO₃ + 0.095 Y₂O₃ 0.31 −0.022 Zr 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Zr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 ZrO₂ 0.38 −0.032 Nb 0.2335 O₂ + 0.533 Nb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.4 IrO₃ + 0.067 Nb₂O₅ 0.44 −0.093 Mo 0.25 O₂ + 0.5 Mo_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.375 IrO₃ + 0.125 MoO₃ 0.50 −0.134 Ru 0.278 O₂ + 0.444 Ir_(0.75)Ru_(0.25)O₂ → 0.333 IrO₃ + 0.111 RuO₄ 0.63 −0.121 Rh 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Ir_(0.75)Rh_(0.25)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 RhO₂ 0.38 −0.032 Pd 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Ir_(0.75)Pd_(0.25)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 PdO₂ 0.38 −0.032 Ag 0.184 O₂ + 0.632 Ag_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.053 Ag₃O₄ + 0.474 IrO₃ 0.29 −0.026 Sn 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Sn_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 SnO₂ 0.38 −0.032 Sb 0.2335 O₂ + 0.533 Sb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.4 IrO₃ + 0.067 Sb₂O₅ 0.44 −0.071 Ba 0.1 O₂ + 0.8 Ba_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.2 IrO₃ + 0.2 Ba(IrO₃)₂ 0.13 −0.012 La 0.184 O₂ + 0.632 La_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.421 IrO₃ + 0.053 La₃IrO₇ 0.29 −0.020 Ce 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Ce_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 CeO₂ 0.38 −0.032 Pr 0.184 O₂ + 0.632 Pr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.421 IrO₃ + 0.053 Pr₃IrO₇ 0.29 −0.026 Nd 0.184 O₂ + 0.632 Nd_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.421 IrO₃ + 0.053 Nd₃IrO₇ 0.29 −0.026 Sm 0.184 O₂ + 0.632 Sm_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.421 IrO₃ + 0.053 Sm₃IrO₇ 0.29 −0.026 Eu 0.1365 O₂ + 0.727 Eu_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.364 IrO₃ + 0.091 Eu₂Ir₂O₇ 0.19 −0.018 Hf 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Hf_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 HfO₂ 0.38 −0.032 Ta 0.2335 O₂ + 0.533 Ta_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.4 IrO₃ + 0.067 Ta₂O₅ 0.44 −0.093 W 0.25 O₂ + 0.5 Ir_(0.75)W_(0.25)O₂ → 0.375 IrO₃ + 0.125 WO₃ 0.50 −0.149 Re 0.1365 O₂ + 0.727 Re_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.091 Re₂O₇ + 0.545 IrO₂ 0.19 −0.185 Os 0.1665 O₂ + 0.667 Ir_(0.75)Os_(0.25)O₂ → 0.167 OsO₄ + 0.5 IrO₂ 0.25 −0.260 Pt 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Ir_(0.75)Pt_(0.25)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 PtO₂ 0.38 −0.032 Au 0.1925 O₂ + 0.615 Ir_(0.75)Au_(0.25)O₂ → 0.462 IrO₃ + 0.077 Au₂O₃ 0.31 −0.028 Tl 0.1925 O₂ + 0.615 Tl_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.077 Tl₂O₃ + 0.462 IrO₃ 0.31 −0.028 Bi 0.2145 O₂ + 0.571 Bi_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.429 IrO₃ + 0.143 BiO₂ 0.38 −0.028

To study the CO poisoning or corrosion, chemical reactivity was studied against CO. CO reactions follow the same trend as reducing conditions i.e., H and H₃O reactions above.

TABLE 8 Chemical reactivity of Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ against CO Ref. CO Reaction Ratio E_(rxn, CO) IrO₂ 0.333 IrO₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.333 Ir 2.00 −0.532 M CO Reaction Ratio E_(rxn, CO) Ca 0.364 Ca_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.636 CO → 0.545 CO₂ + 0.091 CaCO₃ + 0.273 Ir 1.75 −0.622 Ti 0.4 Ti_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.6 CO → 0.6 CO₂ + 0.1 TiO₂ + 0.3 Ir 1.50 −0.465 Ge 0.4 Ge_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.6 CO → 0.6 CO₂ + 0.1 GeO₂ + 0.3 Ir 1.50 −0.465 Se 0.667 CO + 0.333 Ir_(0.75)Se_(0.25)O₂ → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.208 Ir + 0.042 IrSe₂ 2.00 −0.561 Y 0.381 Y_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.619 CO → 0.619 CO₂ + 0.048 Y₂O₃ + 0.286 Ir 1.62 −0.515 Zr 0.4 Zr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.6 CO → 0.6 CO₂ + 0.1 ZrO₂ + 0.3 Ir 1.50 −0.465 Nb 0.421 Nb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.579 CO → 0.053 Nb₂O₅ + 0.579 CO₂ + 0.316 Ir 1.38 −0.445 Mo 0.667 CO + 0.333 Mo_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.083 MoIr₃ 2.00 −0.488 Ru 0.333 Ir_(0.75)Ru_(0.25)O₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.083 Ir₃Ru + 0.667 CO₂ 2.00 −0.517 Rh 0.333 Ir_(0.75)Rh_(0.25)O₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.083 Ir₃Rh + 0.667 CO₂ 2.00 −0.539 Pd 0.333 Ir_(0.75)Pd_(0.25)O₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.25 Ir + 0.083 Pd 2.00 −0.589 Ag 0.333 Ag_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.083 Ag + 0.25 Ir 2.00 −0.629 Sn 0.6 CO + 0.4 Sn_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.6 CO₂ + 0.1 SnO₂ + 0.3 Ir 1.50 −0.465 Sb 0.333 Sb_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.042 Sb₂Ir + 0.667 CO₂ + 0.208 Ir 2.00 −0.490 Ba 0.364 Ba_(0.25)Ir0.75O₂ + 0.636 CO → 0.545 CO₂ + 0.091 BaCO₃ + 0.273 Ir 1.75 −0.585 La 0.381 La_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.619 CO → 0.048 La₂CO₅ + 0.571 CO₂ + 0.286 Ir 1.62 −0.534 Ce 0.6 CO + 0.4 Ce_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ → 0.1 CeO₂ + 0.6 CO₂ + 0.3 Ir 1.50 −0.465 Pr 0.381 Pr_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.619 CO → 0.619 CoO + 0.048 Pr₂O₃ + 0.286 Ir 1.62 −0.355 Nd 0.381 Nd_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.619 CO → 0.619 CO₂ + 0.048 Nd₂O₃ + 0.286 Ir 1.62 −0.510 Sm 0.381 Sm_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.619 CO → 0.619 CO₂ + 0.048 Sm₂O₃ + 0.286 Ir 1.62 −0.511 Eu 0.364 Eu_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.636 CO → 0.545 CO₂ + 0.091 EuCO₃ + 0.273 Ir 1.75 −0.548 Hf 0.4 Hf_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.6 CO → 0.6 CO₂ + 0.1 HfO₂ + 0.3 Ir 1.50 −0.465 Ta 0.421 Ta_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.579 CO → 0.579 CO₂ + 0.053 Ta₂O₅ + 0.316 Ir 1.38 −0.445 W 0.667 CO + 0.333 Ir_(0.75)W_(0.25)O₂ → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.083 Ir₃W 0.50 −0.477 Re 0.333 Re_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.083 ReIr₃ 2.00 −0.451 Os 0.333 Ir_(0.75)Os_(0.25)O₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.25 Ir + 0.083 Os 2.00 −0.523 Pt 0.333 Ir_(0.75)Pt_(0.25)O₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.25 Ir + 0.083 Pt 2.00 −0.567 Au 0.333 Ir_(0.75)Au_(0.25)O₂ + 0.667 CO → 0.667 CO₂ + 0.25 Ir + 0.083 Au 2.00 −0.623 Tl 0.348 Tl_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.652 CO → 0.043 Tl₂CO₃ + 0.609 CO₂ + 0.261 Ir 1.87 −0.585 Bi 0.381 Bi_(0.25)Ir_(0.75)O₂ + 0.619 CO → 0.571 CO₂ + 0.048 Bi₂CO₅ + 0.286 Ir 1.62 −0.523

The results of the (a) thermodynamic decomposition analysis (i.e., tetragonal vs. non-tetragonal phase decomposition) and (b) data from the Tables 3-8 (chemical reactions against H, H₃O, OH, OOH, O, and CO) are shown in FIG. 5 depicting three categories by functionality—species that enhance 1) stability (“Stable Catalyst”), 2) activity (“Active Catalyst”), or are expected to have 3) similar behavior as pure IrO₂ (“Similar to IrO₂”). As can be observed from FIG. 5 , the activity and/or stability of the OER catalyst and/or PEMFC electrode may be tuned by adding and/or replacing Ir- or Ru-based traditional materials with more economical, suitable, and attainable species. The discovery thus has a potential of saving cost, improving performance, durability, sustainability, and increasing production quantities feasibility as well as enabling large scale manufacture of the MEA, OER catalyst, and/or PEMFC electrode having at least comparable characteristics as a traditional IrO₂ OER catalyst. Tables 9-11 below further summarize the stability-enhancing and activity-enhancing ternary oxide species disclosed herein, focusing on known or unknown acid stability and practicality due to availability and lower cost of the herein-disclosed oxide species.

TABLE 9 Stability enhancing ternary oxide species Tiers for stability enhancing ternary oxide species M in Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ S-tier 1: improves stability Bi and contains practical element S-tier 2: improves stability, Y, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu but unknown acid stability S-tier 3: improves stability, Ag, Hf; (Ba) but slightly expensive element (and, unknown acid stability) S-tier 4: improves stability, Rh, Pd, Pt, Au, Tl but more expensive than Ru

TABLE 10 Activity enhancing ternary oxide species Tiers for activity enhancing ternary oxide species M in Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ A-tier 1: improves activity Nb, Mo, Ta, W and contains practical element A-tier 2: improves activity, Re, Ru, Os but expensive

TABLE 11 Ternary oxide species with similar performance as IrO₂ Tiers for cost saving ternary oxide species M in Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ C-tier 1: no disadvantage Ti, Se, Zr, Sn, Sb, Ce (similar to IrO₂ in FIG. 2) C-tier 2: unknown acid Ca, Ge stability, or slightly expensive

Similar screening process and analysis were repeated for an increased concentration of M and reduced amount of Ir for the S-tier 1, S-tier 2, A-tier 1, and C-tier 1 species from Tables 9-11: Ir_(0.5)M_(0.5)O₂ and Ir_(0.25)M_(0.75)O₂, respectively.

From thermodynamic decomposition analysis, it was found that Ca and Y formed CaO and Y₂O₃ unstable in the acidic condition. In addition, Eu was eliminated from further screening due to O₂ gas release during thermodynamic decomposition. FIG. 6 and Table 12 show results of the analysis for 15 elements for Ir_(0.5)M_(0.5)O₂, where M=Ti, Se, Zr, Nb, Mo, Sn, Sb, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Ta, W, and Bi. FIG. 6 depicts three categories by functionality—species that enhance 1) stability, 2) activity, or are expected to 3) have similar behavior as pure IrO₂.

TABLE 12 Assignment of different tiers for OER catalysts leading to stability/activity enhancement, or cost saving with metal substitution in Iro.5Mo.5O2 M in Ir_(0.5)M_(0.5)O₂ Tiers for stability enhancing OER catalyst S-tier1: improves stability and includes Bi practical element S-tier2: improves stability, but La, Nd, Sm acid stability unknown Tiers for activity enhancing OER catalyst A-tier1: improves activity and Ti, Se, Zr, Sb, includes practical element Ce, Ta, W, Nb A-tier2: improves activity, but Mo might be too active (less stable) Tiers for cost saving OER catalyst C-tier1: no disadvantage (similar to IrO₂) Sn C-tier2: unknown acid stability Pr

FIG. 7 and Table 13 show results of the analysis for 10 elements (1^(st)-tier Ir_(0.5)M_(0.5)O₂ oxide species) for Ir_(0.25)M_(0.75)O₂, where M=Bi, Ti, Se, Zr, Sb, Ce, Ta, W, Nb, and Sn. FIG. 7 depicts three categories by functionality—species that enhance 1) stability, 2) activity, or 3) are expected to have similar behavior as pure IrO₂. As can be seen in FIG. 7 and Table 13, in reduced Ir concentration, Bi substitution may lead to stability while adding other elements shifts the species to become more active. Yet, when activity is too high, it is likely that the material will become less stable.

The described research revealed the overall capabilities of the following studied species, captured in Table 13.

TABLE 13 Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ species summary M in Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂ Tiers for stability enhancing OER catalyst S-tier1: improves stability and includes Bi practical element Tiers for activity enhancing OER catalyst A-tier1: improves activity and includes Se, Sn, Sb, Ce practical element A-tier2: improves activity, but might be Ti, Zr, Ta, W, Nb too active (less stable)

Based on the findings summarized in Table 13, various compositions of Ir—Bi-M-O material, where M=Se, Sn, Sb, and Ce were analyzed. The quaternary system may supply the stability-increasing Bi in combination with an activity-enhancing element and cost savings due to the use of less expensive elements than Ir. Comparison of Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)M_(0.33)O₂ composition with Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.25)M_(0.5)O₂ shows that as concentration of Se, Sn, Sb, and Ce increases, the material becomes more active. When the amount of Bi increases in Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)M_(0.33)O₂ to Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.5)M_(0.25)O₂, the corresponding material is predicted to become more stable. The results are summarized in Table 14 below.

In the plot of FIG. 7 , a stable catalyst is one having relative shift >=110% and an active catalyst as having relative shift <=90%. There is a strong correlation between the x and y axes since the axes are not independent. The x axis is a summation of the penalty points (PP) by weight and the y axis is a % difference between the sum of PP for IrO₂ vs. Ir_(0.75)M_(0.25)O₂. The sum of PP includes PP for chemical reactions against H, H₃O, OH, OOH, O, and CO, and thermodynamic decomposition.

TABLE 14 Quaternary Ir—Bi—M—O compositions tested in comparison with pure IrO₂ as an OER catalyst in a PEM electrolyzer application Relative shift Advantages Composition tested vs. IrO₂ (%) vs. pure IrO₂ Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)Se_(0.33)O₂ 127.9 Stability, Cost Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)Sn_(0.33)O₂ 108.6 Cost Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)Sb_(0.33)O₂ 121.2 Stability, Cost Ir_(0.33)Bi_(0.33)Ce_(0.33)O₂ 102.5 Cost Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.25)Se_(0.5)O₂ 107.5 Cost Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.25)Sn_(0.5)O₂ 89.1 Activity, Cost Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.25)Sb_(0.5)O₂ 91.0 Cost Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.25)Ce_(0.5)O₂ 82.2 Activity, Cost Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.5)Se_(0.25)O₂ 129.3 Stability, Cost Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.5)Sn_(0.25)O₂ 110.5 Stability, Cost Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.5)Sb_(0.25)O₂ 124.7 Stability, Cost Ir_(0.25)Bi_(0.5)Ce_(0.25)O₂ 106.6 Cost

While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms encompassed by the claims. The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. As previously described, the features of various embodiments can be combined to form further embodiments of the invention that may not be explicitly described or illustrated. While various embodiments could have been described as providing advantages or being preferred over other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more desired characteristics, those of ordinary skill in the art recognize that one or more features or characteristics can be compromised to achieve desired overall system attributes, which depend on the specific application and implementation. These attributes can include, but are not limited to cost, strength, durability, life cycle cost, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. As such, to the extent any embodiments are described as less desirable than other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more characteristics, these embodiments are not outside the scope of the disclosure and can be desirable for particular applications. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A catalyst for a membrane electron assembly (MEA) comprising: a ternary oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): Ir_(x)M_(1-x)O₂  (I), where x is any number between about 0.25 and 0.75, and M is Ag, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Nd, Os, Pd, Pr, Re, Rh, Se, Sm, Tl, or W, the material being configured to catalyze an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and to increase stability, activity, or both of the catalyst.
 2. The catalyst of claim 1, wherein the MEA is a polymer-electron membrane (PEM) MEA.
 3. The catalyst of claim 1, wherein the MEA is a fuel cell MEA.
 4. The catalyst of claim 1, wherein the catalyst comprises a first composition and a second composition of the formula (I), the first and second compositions having different M, x values, or both.
 5. The catalyst of claim 1, wherein M is Bi.
 6. The catalyst of claim 1, wherein x is about 0.25 to 0.5.
 7. The catalyst of claim 1, wherein the catalyst further comprises at most about 50 wt. % of Ir, Ru, IrO₂, RuO₂, or a combination thereof, based on the total weight of the catalyst.
 8. The catalyst of claim 1, wherein the ternary oxide material forms a nanoparticle layer on an anode of the MEA.
 9. A catalyst of a membrane electron assembly (MEA) comprising: a quaternary oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II): Ir_(x)Bi_(y)M_(z)O₂  (II), where x, y, z is each individually and independently any number between about 0.25 and 0.75, x+y+z=1, and M is Ag, Au, Ba, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Mo, Nb, Nd, Os, Pd, Pt, Pr, Re, Rh, Ru, Sb, Se, Sm, Sn, Ta, Tl, Ti, W, Y, or Zr, the material being configured to catalyze an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and increase stability, activity, or both of the catalyst.
 10. The catalyst of claim 9, wherein the MEA is a polymer-electron membrane (PEM) MEA.
 11. The catalyst of claim 9, wherein the MEA is a MEA in a fuel cell stack.
 12. The catalyst of claim 9, M is Ce, Sb, Se, or Sn.
 13. The catalyst of claim 9, wherein the quaternary oxide material includes at least two different compositions of the formula (II).
 14. The catalyst of claim 9, wherein each of the at least two compositions have different constituents, but the same values of numeric subscripts.
 15. The catalyst of claim 9, wherein the catalyst further comprises Ir, Ru, IrO₂, RuO₂, or a combination thereof.
 16. A membrane electron assembly (MEA) comprising: an OER catalyst material having a first material including (c) a ternary oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): Ir_(x)M_(1-x)O₂  (I), where x is any number between about 0.25 and 0.75; and M is Ag, Au, Ba, Bi, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Nd, Os, Pd, Pr, Re, Rh, Se, Sm, Tl, or W, and (d) a quaternary oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II): Ir_(x)Bi_(y)M_(z)O₂  (II), where x, y, z is each individually and independently any number between about 0.25 and 0.75, x+y+z=1, and M is Ag, Au, Ba, Ca, Ce, Eu, Ge, Hf, La, Mo, Nb, Nd, Os, Pd, Pt, Pr, Re, Rh, Ru, Sb, Se, Sm, Sn, Ta, Tl, Ti, W, Y, or Zr, the material of the formulas (I) and (II) being configured to catalyze oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and increase stability, activity, or both of the catalyst.
 17. The MEA of claim 16, wherein the MEA is a polymer-electron membrane (PEM) MEA.
 18. The MEA of claim 16, wherein the MEA is a fuel cell MEA.
 19. The MEA of claim 16, wherein M in the formula (II) is Se, Sn, Sb, or Ce.
 20. The MEA of claim 16, wherein M in the formula (I) is Bi. 